. . GrAo United States &nei Accounting OfTice 1 ~IO?V 7 ’ Fact Sheet for the Chairman, i Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Commkt6e Energy and Co:mmerce, House of Representatives SECURITIES REGULLYTION OIll July 1986 Background and Selected Statistics On the SEC’sFull Disclosure Program 5’i?169ct8 GAO/GGD-8687FS
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. .
GrAo United States &nei Accounting OfTice 1 ~IO?V 7 ’
Fact Sheet for the Chairman, i Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Commkt6e Energy and Co:mmerce, House of Representatives
SECURITIES REGULLYTION
OIll
July 1986
Background and Selected Statistics On the SEC’s Full Disclosure Program
5’i?169ct8 GAO/GGD-8687FS
B-223274
July 10, 1986
The Honorable John D. Dingell Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight
and Investigations House of Representatives
Dear Mr. Chairman:
In November 1985, we undertook at your request a review of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (Commission) full disclosure program. We agreed with your representatives to report to you in two stages the results of our work. This fact sheet transmits the first part of our work. It provides background and statistical data on the full disclosure program, highlighting budgets for the program, workload statistics, productivity measures, and trends shown in the data.
In the second phase of our work, we will analyze the data in greater detail focusing on program management and alternatives, if any, to the current mode of operations. We expect to deliver the final report early next year.
For this fact sheet, we obtained information from the Commission's database, budget documents, and through interviews with Commission officials. We did not independently verify the reliability of informatton in their database.
The tables and charts in the attached appendixes show that the Commission's full disclosure program has a heavy workload of Securities Act and Exchange Act filings to process. In order to process these filings, the Commission staff have prioritized them into high priority 1) and low priority filings. Due to the increasing number and complexity of high priority filings, there is a growing backlog of unprocessed, low priority Exchange Act periodic financial reports.
A draft of this fact sheet was informally discussed with Commission officials and their suggestions were incorporated where appropriate. These officials disagreed with the year-to-year aggregation of unprocessed filings, even though these statistics were taken from the Commission's database. Appendix II provides their viewpoints on what our tables reveal as well as our response. The fact sheet does not contain conclusions and recommendations.
B-213274
As arranged with your representatives, unless you publicly announce its contents earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report until 30 days tram the date ot this letter. At that time we will send copies to interested parties and make copies available to others upon request. If you have any questions or need additional information, I can be reached on (202) 275-8678.
ssociate Director
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CONTENTS
APPENDIX I
APPENDIX II
APPENDIX III
APPENDIX IV
APPENDIX V
APPENDIX VI
APPENDIX VII
APPENDIX VIII
APPENDIX IX
APPENDIX X
APPENDIX XI
APPENDIX XII
Background
GAO Analyses and Division Viewpoints
Functional Allocation of Staff Years for the Full Disclosure Program FY 1983 - 1985
Organizational Costs for the Full Disclosure Program FY 1981 - 1985
Workload Statistics and Corresponding Staff Years for the Full Disclosure Program FY 1983 - 1985
Workload Statistics and Corresponding Disposition for the Full Disclosure Program FY 1983 - 1985
Interim Average Lapse Time (in days) for Selected Filings Which Received a Full Review FY 1983 - 1986
Average Staff Hours for Full Review of Filings FY 1983 - 1985
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36
* 37
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APPENDIX I
BACKGROUND
APPENDIX I
This appendix presents a brief, qeneral discussion of the fillnq requirements and procedures followed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the processinq of major Securities Act of 1933l (Securities Act) reqistratlon statements and Securities Exchange Act of 19342- (Exchange Act) reqistration statements and periodic reports. Our purpose is to provide a basic framework for understanding the quantitative Information on the Commission's review process presented in the subsequent appendixes.
The Securities Act promulqates the principle of full disclosure, which requires that sufficient information concerning an investment opportunity he disclosed to prospective investors to enable them to make an informed investment decision. The Securities Act reauires that a public distribution of securities be reqistered with the Commission, identifies certain information which must be disclosed in the registration statement, and provides that the reqistration statement may become effective 20 days after filinq with the Commission, unless otherwise provided.3
Althouqh the Securities Act establishes a full disclosure requlatory requirement for the initial distribution of securities, it does not resulre any periodic reportina thereafter. In order to facilitate the subsesuent tradinq of securities by investors, the Congress passed the Exchange Act. Subject to certain exceptions, the Exchanqe Act reauires companies to reqister their securltles if the company is ensaqed in interstate commercqe or if its securities are traded in interstate commerce. Once reqistered with the Commission, the
l15 U.S.C. §s 77a et seq.
215 U.S.C. I 8s 78a et seq.
'3Section 3 of the Securltles Act specifically exempts certain types of securities from reglstratlon. Exempted securities include those issued by federal, state, and local qovernments; certain bank and savinqs and loan association securities: securities issued by eliqible nonprofit orqanizations: and intrastate offerings. In addition, Section 4 exempts certain specific transactions from registration, such as private offerinqs and certain broker or dealer transactions.
4Section 12(a) requires the reqistration of all debt and equity securities traded on a national securities exchanqe. Section 12(q) also reauires the registration of all eauity securities provided the company has at least Sl million dollars In total assets and a class of eauity securities held by at least SO0 shareholders of record. The Commission subsequently increased the minimum total assets to $3 milllon.
4
APPENDIX I APPENDIX I
company must comply with certain periodic reporting requirements In order to assure a continuous flow of information to Investors.
FILING REQUIREMENTS
The Commission oriqinally developed two separate and distinct disclosure systems for these two different securities acts. However, findinq that these two reporting systems imposed an unwarranted requlatory burden on companies who were often required to submit duplicative information to the Commission under both Acts, the Commission adopted an inteqrated disclosure system In 1982. The Commission's qoal in establishing the inteqrated disclosure system was to eliminate unnecessary disclosure and dissemination reauirements for companies while continuinq to provide investors with meaninqful information upon which to base investment decisions.
Requlation S-K is a central element of this system.5 This requlation is a compendium of the disclosure requirements for both Securities Act and Exchanqe Act reqistration statements and Exchange Act periodic reports. Regulation S-K establishes drsclosure reauirements pertaining to both the company and the securities offering (if applicable). Company-oriented disclosure requirements include such things as the business of the firm, market price and dividends on outstanding equity securities, financial statements,6 and manaqement discussion and analysis of financial condition and the results of operations. In contrast, transaction-oriented disclosure requirements describe the details of a particular securities offerlnq in a Securities Act registration statement. It requires disclosure of such things as offering price, use of proceeds, and risk factors.
Securities Act Registration
The Commission has established a three-tiered system of qeneral registration statements which constitutes the basic framework for realstration under the Securities Act. Companies must determine whether they are eliqible to file securities reqistration statements on either Form S-l, S-2, or S-3. The same information must be disclosed to investors reqardless of which form is used. However, the advantaqe of usinq one form rather than another is that a company may file an abbreviated registration statement if they use Forms S-2 or S-3. This
517 CFR Part 229.
6Flnancial statements must be prepared in compliance with the accountlnq rules established by Regulation S-X (17 CFR Part 2W$ Requlation S-X is for the most part consistent with qenerally accepted accountinq principles.
5
APPENDIX I APPENDIX I
allows them to satisfy part of their company-oriented disclosure requirement by reference to other publicly available Exchange Act periodic reports such as the Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, Form 8-K, and the annual report to shareholders (incorporation by reference). A company's eligibility to incorporate by reference is primarily dependent upon the firm's reporting history and its market following.
The first category is Form S-l which is a basic, long-form registration statement which requires complete disclosure about both the company and the proposed security transaction in the prospectus. In practice, Form S-l is primarily used by first- time issuers and smaller companies which are relatively unknown and have been making periodic reports pursuant to the Exchange Act for less than 3 years. The second category of registration statement is Form S-2, an abbreviated registration form which permits the Regulation S-K disclosure requirements for certain company-oriented information to be satisfied by reference to previously filed Exchange Act periodic reports. In order to use this form, the company must satisfy many of the requirements of Form S-3, discussed below, but need not satisfy the market following requirement.
The third category of registration statement is Form S-3. In order to use Form S-3 the company must fulfill several requirements. The company must have a reporting history of filing periodic reports for at least 3 years and have filed them in a timely manner for the last year. Furthermore, within the last year the company must not have defaulted on its debt or failed to pay dividends on its preferred stock. Finally, the company must generally satisfy a market following requirement that the company have either $150 million of voting stock held by non-affiliates (float) or a $100 million float and an annual trading volume of at least 3 million shares. If a company is eligible to use this form, it may satisfy its company-oriented disclosure requirements by reference to Exchange Act periodic reports in the prospectus. In general, the prospectus only need
'contain a complete description of the security being registered: company-oriented information is not required.
In addition to the basic registration framework established by Forms S-l, S-2, and S-3, there are other more specialized forms established by the Commission for use in specific circumstances. Types of specialized registration statements include the following three major forms. First, Form S-4 is designed for registration of securities used in business combination transactions such as mergers and exchange offers. Second, Form S-11 is designed for registration of securities issued either by (a) a real estate investment trust or (b) an issuer whose business is primarily that of investing in real estate or real estate companies. Third, Form S-18 is designed for registration of securities issued by small businesses where the aggregate offering does not exceed $7.5 million.
6
APPENDIX I APPENDIX I
These forms list the applicable Regulation S-K disclosure reaurrements for the registration of the security. Once the disclosure requirements have been identified, the company must also comply with certain standardized procedures in preparinq and flllnq the particular registration statement with the Commission.7
Althouqh the statute provides that reqistration statements may become effective 20 days after they are filed with the Commission, in practice this statutory time constraint can be avoided. Nearly all companies include automatic delaying amendments in the registration statement which, in effect, temporarily waive the 20-day requirement. Nonetheless, the Commission still places a hiqh priority on reviewinq these resistration statements quickly because companies are anxious to take advantaqe of market conditions. Consequently, the Commission has a policy of providing written comments to the company discussinq deficiencies in the proposed reqistration statement within 30 days of receipt of the frlinq.
Exchanqe Act Registration Statements and Periodic Reports
Subiect to certain exceptions, the Exchange Act requires companies to reqister their securities if the company is engaged in interstate commerce or if its securities are traded in interstate commerce. Once the securities are registered, the company is obliqated to file periodic flnanclal reports including the 10-K annual report and the 10-Q quarterly report. In addition, the company must comply with disclosure requirements pertaining to corporate governance in both the solicitation of proxies and in tender offers.
Registration
Section 12 of the Exchanqe Act requires that a nonexempt , security must be reqistered with the Commission before it can be
leqally traded in interstate commerce. The purpose of this reqistration requirement is to ensure that certain company information, not otherwise disclosed, has been provided to investors. The disclosure requirements of Requlation S-K have usually been satisfied by most companies because they have previously filed a Securities Act reaistration statement. As a result, the company may submit a simplified reaistration statement on Form 8A which is routinely processed by Commission staff. However, other companies may have never reqistered securities pursuant to the Securities Act. For example, these companies may have issued securities exempt from registration, such as intrastate offerinqs and private placements. As a
7Regulation C (17 CFR Part 230 Sections 400 through 499).
7
APPENDIX I APPENDIX I
result, they may never have been required to disclose certain information to investors. If such is the case, and the companies are not exempt, thev must submit a more detailed reqistration statement on Form 10.
The Exchanqe Act states that a registration statement becomes effective and the securities may be traded on a national securities exchanqe within 30 days followinq notification by the exchanqe that the security has been accepted for listing.9 The Commission tries to process the filings within these timeframes to ensure that complete in-depth disclosure has been made to prospective investors when the registration statement becomes effective and tradinq commences.
Periodic Financial Reports
Once a security is registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, the company becomes subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the act. Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act requires companies to submit both annual and quarterly financial reports to the Commission. In addition, the Commission also requires companies to file current reports whenever material events occur.
These periodic financial reports are important to the effective functioning of the securities market in both the registration and subsequent trading of securities because investors may rely on these reports in making their investment decisions. As discussed earlier, some companies may refer to these reports in their reqistration statement in order to satisfy their company-oriented disclosure obliqations. Furthermore, these periodic reports, toqether with information from other sources, are used by investors in the subseauent trading of all securities.
The annual report is a key disclosure document established ,by the Commission. It is filed by the company on Form 10-K within 90 days after the end of the company's fiscal year. It contains audited financial statements, management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations, and extensive disclosure of other information to investors.9
In addition, other reports must also be filed. The quarterly report (Form 10-Q) is filed within 45 days of the close of each fiscal quarter, except the fourth quarter. It contains unaudited financial statements, management discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations,
*A security accepted for listinq in the over-the-counter market may be traded within 60 days following filing of the reqistration statement with the Commission.
9The annual report sent to shareholders contains onlv some of the information included in the Form 10-K filinq.
8
APPENDIX I APPENDIX I
and disclosure of selected items. Addltlonally, a current report must be filed on Form 8-K should certain material events occur. For example, the company must report within 15 days if they acquire or dispose of significant assets, change accountants, or if a member of the board of directors resigns. These filings generally need not be reviewed within any set period of time. Unlike Securities Act and Exchange Act registration statements, there is generally no constituency awaitinq Commission review of these filings. Consequently, the Commission staff may defer examination of these filings when the workload of hiqher priority filings demands attention.
Corporate Governance - Proxies and Tender Offers
In addition to these periodic financial reports, Sections 13 and 14 of the Exchange Act also address the subject of corporate qovernance. Shareholders may be asked to make significant decisions when either their shareholders' votes are solicited (often in the form of a proxy solicitation) or when someone publicly offers to purchase their shares (tender offer). In either instance, the Conqress has determlned that adequate information must be disclosed in order for shareholders to make an informed decision.
Section 14(a) authorizes the Commission to regulate the solicitation of proxies. The Commission requires most proxy statements to be filed on Schedule 14A which is designed to enable-skareholders to vote their proxies in an informed manner. Schedule 14A is submitted by company management when they need shareholder authorization to engage in certain activities. For example, they will prepare a Schedule l4A when company management needs shareholder authorization to elect a board of directors: to take action with respect to a pension and retirement plan: to adopt anti-takeover provisions: or to propose mergers, consolidations, acquisitions, and similar I matters.
Companies are reauired to submit a preliminary proxy statement to the Commission at least 10 days before their planned distribution of the material to shareholders. Conseauently, Commission staff must notify the company within 10 days if they decide to formally review the filing. If the company is not contacted by Commission staff, they may mail the proxy materials to shareholders.
10Companies not soliciting proxies in connection with a meeting of shareholders must provide essentially the same information to shareholders on Schedule 14C.
APPENDIX I APPENDIX I
The Exchange Act also authorizes the Commission to regulate both third party and issuer tender 0ffers.l' Section 14(d), (e), and (f) authorizes the Commission to regulate third-party tender offers. The congressional intent behind this tender offer regulation was to neither encourage nor discourage tender offers. Rather, the intent was to ensure that stockholders have sufficient information to allow them to intelligently decide whether or not to tender their securities. The Commission requires a third party tender offeror to file Schedule 14D-1 disclosing such information as the bidder's identity, the amount of securities sought and the compensation offered, the purpose of the tender offer, and any other information necessary for the shareholder to make an informed decision. In the event another party, such as the management of the target company, would like to make a recommendation to shareholders as to whether or not they should accept the tender offer, they must file a Schedule 14D-9. Among other things, they must disclose their identity and relationship with both the target and bidding company as well as the basis for their recommendation.
Section 13(e) of the Exchange Act governs issuer tender offers. The issuer is obligated to disclose to shareholders substantially the same information as would be required in a third party tender offer. This information must be disclosed to shareholders on Schedule 13E-4.
Tender offer filings are submitted to the Commission at the same time they are made to shareholders. Since the staff do not have any "grace period" in which to review these filings, they must process these filings as quickly as possible in order to determine whether adequate disclosure has been made to investors.
PROCESSING OF REGISTRATION STATEMENTS AND PERIODIC REPORTS
I The Commission's Division of Corporation Finance (Division) is, primarily responsible for reviewing both Securities Act registration statements and Exchange Act registration statements and periodic reports. The Division is organized into 12 branches with each branch responsible for processing all filings within a specific industry, such as insurance, aerospace, oil and gas, etc. Although the 12 branches are primarily responsible for processing these filings, other specialized offices in the Division may also become involved when necessary. For example, the Office of Engineering may examine filings from mining and oil and gas companies; the Office of
------__---
"A third party tender offer is a public offer to purchase outstanding shares by persons not affiliated with company management. An issuer tender offer is a public offer to purchase outstanding shares by the company or its affiliates.
10
APPENDIX I APPENDIX I
International Corporate Finance examines filings of foreign issuers; and the Office of Tender Offers reviews tender offer filings. In addition, the Division staff may also consult with other divisions whenever filings raise questions outside of their area of expertise.
Selective Review
Prior to 1980, essentially all Securities Act and Exchange Act filings received by the Commission were reviewed for disclosure deficiencies. However, as the number of filings increased, review of filings in a timely manner became more difficult.
Recognizing that it did not possess the resources to review all filings, the Division adopted a "selective review" system in 1980. It is designed to concentrate limited staff resources on those filings that most warrant examination. The Division staff identify the filings of potentially troubled companies under the assumption that these companies may not want to adequately disclose relevant information to investors. In the case of proxies and tender offer filings, they identify those filings which will have a major effect on existing shareholders.
As a result, a critical element of the selective review system is to properly "screen" incoming Securities Act registration statements and Exchange Act registration statements and periodic reports based on preestablished criteria into three major categories: (a) no review, (b) full review, and (c) filings which are monitored. A full review is a broad-based, thorough examination of all the accounting, financial, and legal aspects of the filing. In contrast, monitoring is a narrowly focused check for compliance with specific disclosure requirements.
Screening
Once a Securities Act or Exchange Act filing has been received by the appropriate branch, it is assigned to a senior staff person to be screened. The Division has established criteria for screening each type of Securities Act and Exchange Act filing to determine whether it will receive a full review, monitor, or no review. For example, Securities Act registration statements are screened primarily to identify (a) companies having possible financial difficulties as indicated by unfavorable financial ratios or a qualified accountant's opinion, (b) initial public offerings, or (c) companies recently investigated by the Commission's Division of Enforcement.
Division staff access both external and internal databases in performing these screening functions. In order to determine whether a company is having possible financial troubles, the
11
APPENDIX I APPENDIX I
Dlvrsion staff access an external database which lists those companies in Standard and Poor's Compustat II database which do not meet certain preestablished financial ratios.12
In addition, staff check the Name and Relationship Search System database to determine whether the company has recently been lnvestlqated by the Division of Enforcement. This database is manaqed by the Division of Enforcement and contains information on the company, its subsidiaries, and key officers.
Screeninq criteria also exist for both proxy solicitation statements and tender offers. With respect to a proxy solicitation the most important selectinq criteria is to determine whether the proxy statement raises substantive matters which materially affect the rights of shareholders. For example, a proxy solicitation to adopt anti-takeover measures, to acquire or dispose of siqnificant assets, or a proposed merger or consolidation will likely receive a full review. In contrast, a proxy statement relatinq to an uncontested election to the board of directors will probably not get reviewed. With respect to tender offers, shareholders are beinq asked to make a maior investment decision. As a result, most tender offer filinqs are given a full review.
REVIEW OF SECURITIES ACT AND EXCHANGE ACT FILINGS
The purpose of the Division's review of both Securities Act and Exchange Act filings is to assure adequate disclosure of important facts so that investors may make a realistic appraisal of the value of securities and make an informed decision as to whether or not to purchase them. Division review of these filings does not insure investors aqainst loss, nor does it guarantee the accuracy of the facts represented in the documents. However, both securities laws do provide investors leqal recourse if there is false or misleadinq disclosure in the registration statement or periodic report. ,
12Compustat II is the trade name of Standard and Poor's computerized data base on thousands of companies traded on the national securities exchanqes and in the over-the-counter market. Rank holdlnq companies are not included in the Compustat II data base. The Division has contracted with Cates Consultinq Analysts, Inc. to provide data profiles on banks and bank holdina companies. In the event a company is neither in the Compustat II data base or the Cates monitorinq system, Division staff manually compute the necessary financial ratios and check for a qualified accountant's opinion.
12
APPENDIX I APPENDIX I
The Division has established written procedures for the full review of both Securities Act and Exchange Act filinqs. Staff review the filing from several different perspectives-- legally, financially, and analytically. As a result, an attorney and/or flnanclal analyst as well as an accountant are usually assigned to each filing selected for full review. The preliminary steps in a full review include notification to the company that the filinq has been selected for full review (in the case of registration statements and proxies), determining whether the filing should be referred to other offices within the Commission or to other agencies for comment, and performing backsround research on the company.
The staff prepare an examination report which provides a record of the work performed during the course of the review. It will disclose what was done, the issues which were raised, and their ultimate resolution. During the review the staff members will identify any disclosure deficiencies. They will prepare a draft letter to the company. This draft letter and the filinq are then reviewed by a supervisor. If the supervisor concurs, the comment letter detailinq disclosure deficiencies is sent to the company. The company is then responsible for responding to the comments until the issue is resolved or the Division takes some other action, e.g., referral to the Division of Enforcement.
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APPENDIX II
GAO ANALYSES AND DIVISION VIEWPOINTS
APPENDIX II
The following discussion highlights the major points that surface from a review of the tables and charts that follow. To process the large number of Securities Act and Exchanqe Act filings, Division staff prioritize filings as low or hiqh priority, depending on time sensitivity. When the volume and complexity of time sensitive filings is hiqh, only limited resources are available to process the lower priority filings. Division officials have indicated that they are unable to systematically process low priority periodic financial reports because they lack the staff resources. Commission data confirms that there is a growing inventory of unprocessed periodic financial reports.
WORKLOAD OF FILINGS HAS INCREASED
Division officials identified two components of workload which have affected the allocation of staff resources--the number of filinqs and their complexity. They noted that while the number of filings can be readily quantified, the increasing complexity of filings is less easy to measure.
Number of Filings
We analyzed the number of filings both in terms of the total number filed and the number which received a full review by Division staff. We found that the total number of filings had increased by 17 percent (from 60,252 to 70,646) between FY 1983 and FY 1985 (see app. VI).
However, while the number of some types of filinqs increased, others declined. The data indicates that the number of Securities Act filings actually declined during this time interval, from 5,773 to 4,879. Division officials stated that the number of Securities Act registration statements was dependent primarily upon factors not subject to their control --market conditions and, in particular, interest rates. FY 1983 was a relatively active year while FY 1984 and FY 1985 were less active. On the other hand, the total number of Exchange Act filings increased during this time interval. Annual reports, proxies, and tender offers increased by 16 percent (from 8,448 to 9,836), 7 percent (from 6,169 to 6,606), and 74 percent (from 307 to 533), respectively between FY 1983 and FY 1985. Division officials explained that the incoming workload of Exchanqe Act filings was more predictable than Securities Act filings since the submission of periodic financial reports is required and various state laws also require companies to hold annual meetings for their shareholders.
14
APPENDIX II APPENDIX II
The total number of all filings which received a full review increased by about 23 percent (from 7,531 to 9,289) between FY 1983 and FY 1985. As would be expected, since total Securities Act filinqs declined, the number of filings under this Act which received a full review also declined during this t lme interval. In contrast, the number of Exchange Act filings which received a full review increased during this timeframe. Annual reports, proxies, and tender offers receiving a full review increased by 94 percent (from 1,103 to 2,136), 19 percent (from 1,116 to 1,324), and 71 percent (from 259 to 443) respectively between FY 1983 and FY 1985. (See figs. 2.1 to 2.3, which present this and other data taken from WFRECAP reports and budget estimate reports to the Congress.)
Figure 2.1
1933 SECURITIES ACT REGISTRATIONS FY 1983 - 85
\ ‘A L _-- ---
LEGEND
-- FILED
-- REVIEWED
MONITORED
.-___ UNPROCESSED
1
1
1983 1984 1sws
15
APPENDIX II
Figure 2.2
APPENDIX II
1934 EXCHANGE ACT REGISTRATIONS FY 1983 - 85
-- ,- - - -..____-
---- -- -- -- _.-...-
LEGEND
_ FILED
._- - REVIEWED
_._____ UPIPROCESSED
Figure 2.3
1934 EXCHANGE ACT PERIODIC REPORTS FY 1983 - 85
I
_I--- . --
I 0-
1983 1984 1985
LEGEND
--- FILED
__- REVIEWED
. . . . . MONITORED
- _- UNPROCESSED
16
*
APPENDlX II APPENDIX II
We asked Division officials to describe the types of flllnqs they have been processinq in the last few months. They stated they have been swamped by Securities Act registration statements In the last few months. Favorable stock market conditrons have prompted a number of companies to submit reqistration statements, primarily to refinance debt. Dlvlsion officials believe they will continue to receive an unusually hiqh number of filinqs as lonq as interest rates remain relatively low.
Complexitv of Filings Reviewed
Division officials stated that the complexity of both Securities Act reqlstration statements and Exchanqe Act proxies and tender offers has increased In the last several years. Althouqh the most common form of Securities Act reqistration statement consists of traditional long-term, nonconvertible debt and common stock offerinqs, Division officials noted that Lncreasing numbers of exotic and novel securities are beinq reqlstered. For example, one popular debt financing techniaue LS medium-term notes that have varying maturities ranqing from 9 months to over 15 years and either fixed or floating Interest rates. Another novel security is to issue debt denominated in for-elan currencies.
Division officials also pointed out that there have been a larqe number of complex and time-consuminq proxy contests and hostile tender offers in the last few years. Processinq a sinqle filinq may reauire hundreds of staff hours, accordinq to these officials. One official noted that the time and resources spent on such a filinq cannot be adeauately depicted in budget statlstlcs when compared aqainst simpler filinqs that were more easily processed.
We tried to determine whether there were any measurable indicators of complexity of review. We computed the averaqe
, staff hours for the full review of a filinq over a period of 3 years to determine whether there were any trends by type of fillnq (see app. XII). The data indicates that it now takes lonqer to review the average Securities Act filinq but there is no clear trend with respect to Exchange Act filings. Naturally other factors such as staff morale, turnover, and training may also aEfect the time required to review a filing. However, in FY 1985 the averaqe Securities Act new reqistration statement required about 152 hours for a full review as compared with an averaqe of about 116 hours in FY 1983-1984. Similarly, in FY 1985 the average standard proxy required about 31 hours for a full review as compared with an averaqe of about 22 hours in FY 1983-1984. On the other hand, in FY 1985 the averaqe annual report required about 50 hours for a full review as compared with an averaqe of about 72 hours in FY 1983-1984.
17
APPENDIX II APPENDIX II
In addition, we also examined the data to determine whether the types of filings selected for full review had changed over the last several years. The data indicates minor trends that appear to offset one another. The percentage of Securities Act registration statements selected for full review fluctuated slightly from 32.5 percent in FY 1985 compared to 38.4 percent in FY 1984 and 35.4 percent in FY 1983 (see app. VI). On the other hand, the percentage of annual reports, proxies, and tender offers selected for full review increased by varying percentages in FY 1985 when compared against the average percentages for FY 1983 and FY 1984.
DIVISION PRIORITIZES FILINGS PROCESSED
The Division prioritizes filings to allocate scarce staff resources. Division officials stated high priority filings are those which are time sensitive because there is either a statutory or regulatory time constraint or a constituency anxious for the Division to complete action on the filing. As discussed earlier, these high priority filings include Securities Act and Exchange Act registration statements, proxies, and tender offers. In contrast, low priority filings are not time sensitive. These filings include the Exchange Act periodic reports-- the 10-K annual report, the 10-Q quarterly report, and the 8-K current report. Unless these filings are reviewed within the context of a Securities Act registration statement or a proxy, there is no regulatory requirement or outside constituency urging prompt action on these filings.
As a result, the low priority filings tend to be processed only after the higher priority time sensitive filings have been addressed. If the workload of high priority filings is very high, then the resources available for low priority filings is reduced. Conversely, if the workload of high priority filings is relatively low, then the staff resources are available to process lower priority filings.
,PERIODIC FINANCIAL REPORTS ARE NOT ALWAYS BEING PROCESSED
Division officials stated that a significant percentage of periodic financial reports are not processed given scarce staff resources and the relatively low priority of these filings.1 They stated that they usually performed a preliminary screen to
lThe term "processed" means a filing which has been: (a) screened and will receive no full review or monitor; (b) reviewed (or monitored) with no comments; (c) reviewed (or monitored) with comments; or (d) withdrawn, abandoned, or the staff is not in a position to review, or monitor.
18
APPENDIX II APPENDIX II
identify those filings which should receive a full review (or monitoring) at some future date. However, they were not always able to subsequently review (or monitor) those filings.
The statistics confirm that there is a large and growing inventory of aqed and unprocessed 10-K annual reports and 10-Q quarterly reports. For example, their data indicates that the endinq inventory of unprocessed and aged (over 90 days) 10-K annual reports increased from 5,846 in FY 1983 to 15,551 after the first 6 months of FY 1986 (see app. IX). While Division officials aqree there is a large inventory of aqed and unprocessed periodic financial reports, they do not believe the actual number is as large as reported. They stated that the staff have actually processed some of these filings in conjunction with the review of other filings but they have not recorded this in their computerized management reporting system.
Division officials said that investors may rely on the integrity of financial reports in making their investment decisions. In 1984 well over $1 trillion of securities were traded, in part, based on the information contained in these reports. Division officials commented that it disturbed them that they were unable to properly process and, if necessary, review (or monitor) these filings but they stated that they lacked the staff resources to perform this function.
We provided Division officials a copy of the draft fact sheet for their viewpoints. They expressed the view that our aqgregating unprocessed 10-K and 10-Q filings from year to year failed to reflect the fact that a substantial number of companies, whose 10-K and 10-Q reports were included in the aqgregated backloq had, in fact, been fully reviewed in connection with transactional filings during the period or through the review of earlier or later filed 10-K's,. The officials indicated that they did not view unreviewed 10-K's and 10-Q's as hackloq once a subsequent 10-K was filed. It was their view that the more relevant consideration was the number
I of companies whose audited financial statements were reviewed or not reviewed in the period.
Reqardinq their concerns about the year-to-year aggregation of unprocessed filings, our analysis was based on data from their own computerized management reporting system which provides data on aqed inventories of unprocessed filinqs. Whether subsequent reviews of filings mitigate the Division's need to process all 10-K's and 10-Q's that are filed will be considered in our next report on the full disclosure program.
19
FUflCtl.Bl
Review of Filings
RsglStrEltlC4-6:
securitrss Act Registratiom
Excbmqe Act Reglstrstlm
Exchange Act I% lad IC kports.
Annual l?aporf
Proxy - Annual lbetrmg
Roxy--ger
-oxy - Contests
Tender Offer
Qmrterly 6 current
MIscellanecus FllIngs'
Sub-Total
Overhe%l
Rul-&lnp
Legal Advice & Public lnforratlm
RegIonsI Office Disclosure
Docwnt Receipt and
Dlstrlbutlcm
Public lnfmatlonb
Accounting Policy
Sub-Total
TOTAL STAFF YEARS
FUMCTIONAL ALLCXXTIOW OF STAFF YEWIS
FOR THE FULL DISCLOSIRE PRoGRNl
FY 1961- 1965
Fiscal Yew
1981 1932 I983
StsffxGrccmt of Stsffxkrcmt of staffx&vxwlt of
YWS Total YOOI-S Total - Y-I-S Total
114.8 91.4 105.5 95.7 95.6
7.4 10.2 3.0 4.0 0.6
17.6 27.0 41.3
15.7 16.3 10.6
5.6 7.1 6.1
11.8 10.6 4.8
4.6' a.4 2.1
3.5 2.5 5.4
9.0 9.8 7.4
190.0 C46.U~ 183.3 (4S.ll 187.0
11.0 8.0 20.5
20.8 26.4 20.2
19.2 18.2 28.1
52.9 59.0 55.2
c4r.m
49.9 50.0
12.0 25.3
7.2 11.2
4.7 4.5
3.9 3.6
2.9 3.7
0.7 4.1
189.6 WILU, 206.8 c46.m
14.0 24.6
19.1 11.1
19.1 18.9
58.1 59.5
66.4 63.1 61.6
26.1 26.9 20.2
21.3 19.9 16.6
219.7 (53.61) 224.3 (55.os) 224.4
409.7 troD.os, 407.6 c1oo.Oa 411.4
5.1-s -w-s =--I
(54.1)
Cloo.os,
58.4 62.3
27.1 27.9
19.6 18.5
215.4 (53.22) 222.6 t51.*,
405.2 c1oo.n 429.6' c1oo.wr =1**.1 51-I=
'Going private proxies. going private schedules. and scqulsltlon statemants.
bpubllc reference rocm and Free&m of InfoMtlm Act actlvitles.
=Rlor to FY 1962. acqulsltlm stat-ts were Included In the tender offer totals.
dDoes not Include 18.0 staff years allocated to the EDGAR proJect.
SOUP.CE. SEC budget estimate reports to the Congress.
1904 1965
Statt- Percemtof Staff- Percent of
YOWS Total - __ YWTS Total
1 FUNCTIONAL ALLOCATION OF STAFF YEARS
FOR THE FULL DISCLOSURk PROGRAM FY 1981-85 (5-YFAR AVERAGE)
REVIEW OF FIL!NGS
OTHER FUNCTiONS
ORGAIIIZATIWL COSTS FOR N
FULL DISCLDSLRE m
FY 1981- 1985
Organization
Corporation Flnanco 241.0 235.9 247.9 242.0 261.4
Consuner Affairs and
Information Servlces 26.1 28.9 28.1 27.1 27.9
Appllcatlons and Reports
sew 1 ces 68.4 63.1 61.6 58.4 62.3
Chief Accountant 21.3 19.9 18.6 19.6 18.5
Regional Offices 52.9
409.1
409.7 PIIIII
59.8 55.2 58.1 59.5
Subtota I 407.6 405.2
Electronic Flllng (EDGAR)
Total Program Cost $15.7 116.6 405.2 =1111=
SlS.9 429.6 $21.3
2.0 18.0 6.3 -
120.9 447.6 S27.P ==I===
1981
Staff- cost
Years (S, nilllons)
Fiscal Yew
1982 1983 1984 1985
Staff- Cost Staff- cost Staff- cost Staff- cost
Years (J, mllllon) Years (S, mlllion) Years (S, mllllon) Years (I, mlllion)
‘This total does not add due to rounding.
SOURCE : SEC budget estimate reports to the Congress.
APPENDIX V APPENDIX V
YORLLOAO STATISTICS AN0 CCRRESPOM)lNG STAFF YEARS
FOR THE FULL DISCLOSURE PROGRAM
FY 19.3, - 1985'
69.2
1303
903 40.0 1132
619
IMpeat 15J”Wb Filed 2623 1797 2184
Revlewd 621 479 577
Kabnltored 971 169 205
PO*t.E‘t.C+l"~
N"endae"tr Flied
Revlewd
lb" I 'bred
1700
399
2 M.3
Sub-Total Flied 5773
R~"Ie"ed 2046
MonItorad 17)7
1537
400
401 -
4b37 1787
-5l&
46.9
1563
390
239 -
915.7
4879
1586
444 -
Exchange Act Ryllstratlons
139
79 3.5
236 166 4.6
165
145
Repeat ,,S"IIP Flied 1250
A~vlswed 658
1548 626 0.2
1500
62)
Sub-Total FIIad
Re" lewd
I,89
737 - J.B
1764
792
lb85 770 -
Annual Report Flied 8448
Ravlwed 1103
Monltorsd 1616 41.3
937.9
1256
2936 49.9
9036
2136
350
Proxy-A""".?, FI lad
Rev I wed
Ibnltwed
500,
915
93 10.6
6019
739
b9 12.0
6196
1005
318
Proxy-Merger Flied
Rev I owed
250
171 6.1
320
183 7.2
330
259
Praxy-co"+*lts FIled
R."I.wed
38
30
Tendar otter Fllsd 307
Rs"l.wed 259
HJnltored 20
Quarterly/
C"l-FW+ Flied
Rsvlewsd
MonItored
32744
1624
12970
MISC6l I.neousc Fl led 5422
Revlsrsd 446
Cbnltorsd 429
Sub-Total FI led
RevIewed
MonItored
53090
4748
1)128
TOTAL Flied
Revlewed
Honltorad
60252
7531
16865 ..1.1.
4.8
2.1
5.4
-7&
77.7
167.0 -1.1..
60
41 4.7
80
60
307
308
25 3.9
533
443
2
36285
863 9265 2.9
39074
2066
9752
65b3 666
18
59012
4056
m
65433
6630
12863 . . . . . .
8.7
89.3
169.8 . . . ..a
8033
964
-2
64082 6933
E
70646
92.99
10950 11.1..
9872 I3172 14326 25984 32748 MOB I
FY 1963
"unbar 0‘ watt
Fll?ngrs
FY 1984
lwmm- Of Staff (1
'Includes (III tlllngs (dc.was+lc .,"d fwelgn,.
'Does not Include S-8 tlllngs and their pat-eftactl". an.ndmen+s,
%lnq prI".t. (Proxlss and schsdulss) and acqulsltlon stat-nts.
dOthsr reters to flllngs which rscelved ""usu(~l prwerslng treetment.